Toggle bolt



Nov. 3, 1942. J. H. MOLAT 2,301,135

' TOGGLE BOLT Filed April 10, 1942 i INVENTOR. 31/ 7035 fi/Wamr 4 TTOQNEY Patented Nov. 3, 1942 I umrao STATES. PATENT OFFICE ApplicationApril 10. im, Serial No. 438,359 Claims. (01.85-3) "This inventionrelates to toggle bolts and has for one of its objects the provision ofan improved toggle bolt, which shall be constructed and ar-' ranged asto automatically accommodate itself to varying space conditions" foundwithin walls where it is desired to use toggle bolts.

Another object of my invention is to provide an improved toggle boltwhich shall be characterized by the simplicity of its construction andby the simplicity of the manner .of its use, and which at the same timeshall be highly efficient in use and represent a general improvement inthe art.

Other objects of my invention will in part be obvious and in parthereinafter pointed out.

The invention accordingly consists in the features of construction,combinations of elements, and arrangements of parts which will beexemplified in the construction hereinafteridescribed and of which thescope of application will be indicated in the claims.

In the accompanying drawing, in which is shown various possibleembodiments of this invention:

Fig. 1 is vertical sectional view through a portion of a wallconstruction with a toggle bo1t,.con structed in accordance with myinvention, attached thereto;

Fig. 2 is an elevational view of the toggle bolt shown in Fig. 1, butillustrating the manner of attaching the same in position;

Fig. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken substantially along the line 33of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a vertical sectional view of a portion of a wall construction,similar to Fig. 1, but showing the application of a modified form of mytoggle bolt constructed in accordance with my invention; and

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of the Fig. 4 form of toggle bolt.

Referring now in detail to the drawing I have shown in Figs. 1 to 3 atoggle bolt Ill constructed and arranged in accordance with my inventionand effectively positioned in a wall. For purposes of illustration Ihave shown a wall structure comprising a front wall II, a rear wall I2spaced therefrom and a cross support II of the customary materialsemployed in the art.

The toggle bolt of my invention comprises a frame I5 having a top wall I50, side walls I5!) and end walls lie and I5d. Each of the side wallsI5b is provided with longitudinal slotted openings I i. A block I1 isfreely disposed within the channel of the frame II formed between theside walls Ilb. The said block I! is provided with projecting pins I. onopposite sides thereof which are freely slidable in the openings I6, sothat the block I1 is held captively attached to the frame III and isslldably movable in the direction of the longitudinal axis of the saidframe. The movement of the said block I! is limited by the end walls lidand IIib of the slots IS. The block I! is provided with a threadedopening I9 having its axis at right angles to the axes of the pins I8.Received in the opening I! is the threaded shank 20a of a bolt 20 havingthe customary enlarged head 20b. The top wall l5a of the frame I5 isprovided with a slotted opening 2| and the end wall I5d is provided witha notch 22 extending upwardly from the bottom edge thereof. The purposeand function of the opening 2| and notch 22 will become apparent, in thefollowing description of the manner of using the toggle bolt of myinvention as above described. When it is desired to attach a member 21to a wall, it is merely necessary to make an opening 25 in the outerwall I I sufiiciently large for the toggle bolt frame I5 to passtherethrough. The bolt 20 is first threadedly turned in the block I!until the bolt shank 20a touches the wall I50 and the pins l8 abut thewalls I6b of the slots I6. This will maintain the frame I5 in a positionwith its longitudinal axis parallel to the axis of the bolt 20 and inwhich position the frame is passed through the opening 25. After thisthe bolt is unscrewed from its former position to its dotted lineposition (Fig. 2) until the frame I5, due to gravity, will pivot aboutthe pins I8 and will automatically drop to the dotted line verticalposition with the shank 20a of the bolt freely passing through theslotted opening 2I in the wall I in as shown in Fig. 2. While, in thelast named position of the frame I5, the bolt is screwed inwardly in theblock I! until the frame is held up against the inner surface of thewall I I to hold the member 21 in place.

It is thus seen from the above described construction that the togglebolt of my invention will automatically adjust itself to whatever spaceconditions are met within the walls.- Thus, for example, in Fig. 1 Ihave shown a condition in which there is a cross beam I4 and for thatreason it is noted that the frame I5 is in a higher vertical positionwith respect to the bolt 20 than tha shown in Fig. 2 which represents acondition where no such obstruction as the member I4 is present.

In Figs. 4 and 5 I have shown a modified form of my invention in which,instead of the frame I5, I'employ a simple flat plate of metal III orsimilar rigid material to which I attach a pair of spaced flexible wiremembers 3| and 32. The said wires 3| and 32 may be attached to the plate30 in any suitable manner known to the art, such as, for example, byproviding holes in the plate 30 into which the wire ends are receivedand held in position by solder (see Fig. 4). The plate 30 is providedwith a threaded through opening 35 disposed between the wires 3| and 32.With this form of my invention a hole 36 is first made in the outer wallII and the plate 30 passed therethrough by first flexing the wires 3|and 32 so that they will lie parallel to the longitudinal axis of theplate 30, as shown by the dotted lines 3| and 32' in Fig. 5 of thedrawing. After insertion the plate 30 is restored to vertical position,and in abutting relation with the inner surface of the wall II, as shownin Fig. 4, and with the wires 3| and 32 projecting through the opening36. The plate 30 is thus held in position by pulling on the wires 3| and32. While in such last named position the bolt 40 is threadedly passedthrough the plate opening 35 and the member 31 thus fastened inposition. The wires 3| and 32 may then be clipped off, if desired, as inFig. 4 or they may be left to project beyond the outer surface of thewall II to be utilized for hanging pictures or other articles thereon.In the latter case the member 31 may serve as a washer with openings topermit the wires 3| and 32 to pass therethrough.

If desired, instead of separate wire members 3| and 32, the said members3| and 32 may be joined by a loop portion 38 (see Fig. 5) to provide aU-shaped member in which the free ends of the legs 3| and 32 arefastened to the plate 30.

It will thus be seen that there is provided a. device in which theseveral objects of my invention are achieved, and which is well adaptedto meet the conditions of practical use.

As various possible embodiments might be made of the above invention,and as various changes might be made in the embodiments above set forth,it is to be understood that all matter herein set forth or shown in theaccompanying drawing is to be interpreted as illustrative and not in alimiting sense.

Having thus described my invention I claim as new and desire to secureby Letters Patent:

1. A toggle bolt comprising in combination a threaded bolt member, arigid member threadedly received on said bolt, an abutment memberpivotally mounted on said rigid member, said abutment member being atthe same time slidable with respect to said rigid member so that thesaid abutment member may be slidably moved with respect to said boltbefore the automatic pivotalmovement of said abutment member toaccommodate itself to varying space conditions within wall structures.

2. A toggle bolt comprising in combination, a threaded bolt member, arigid member threadedly received on said bolt, an abutment membercomprising a top wall, a pair of side walls depending therefrom to forma channel space therebetween within which said rigid member is freelyreceived, said side walls being provided with slotted openings and meansfor pivotally and slidably mounting said abutment member on said rigidmember, said means comprising projections on opposite sides of saidrigid member rotatably and slidably received in said slotted openings sothat pivoting of said abutment member is possible at any point alongsaid slotted opening.

3. A toggle bolt according to claim 2 in which said top wall of saidabutment member is provided with a slotted opening through which aportion of the said bolt is adapted to freely project.

4. A toggle bolt according to claim 2 in which the said abutment memberis provided with end walls, one of which has a notch therein extendingupwardly from the bottom edge thereof into which the bolt is adapted tobe received upon pivotal movement of said abutment member with respectto said rigid member.

5. A toggle bolt comprising in combination, a threaded bolt, a rigidmember threadedly received on said bolt, an abutment member comprising atop wall, a pair of side walls depending therefrom to form a. channelspace therebetween within which said rigid member is freely disposed,end walls, each of said side walls,

and said top wall being provided with relatively long slotted openingsdisposed substantially parallel to the longitudinal axis of saidabutment member, means for pivotally and slidably mounting said abutmentmember on said rigid member, said means comprising projections onopposite sides of said rigid member rotatably and slidably received insaid slotted openings of said side walls, said bolt being adapted tofreely project through the said slotted opening in said top wall of saidabutment member upon pivotal movement of said rigid member with respectthereto, one of said end walls being provided with a notch extendingupwardly from the bottom free edge thereof into which the bolt isadapted to be received, the opposite end wall being adapted to serve asa stop member for the movement of the bolt member to maintain saidabutment member in a position with its longitudinal axis substantiallyparallel to the axis of said bolt.

JOSEPH H. MOLAT.

